


Of tombstones and flowers

by cryingtoast



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Chaeyu, F/F, Fluff, hehe, reupload, simple stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 00:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18227375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryingtoast/pseuds/cryingtoast
Summary: "We’ve been running into each other in the graveyard while watering the flowers all summer I guess it’s time I introduce myself" AU.A chaeyu one shot -





	Of tombstones and flowers

**Author's Note:**

> reup !! old so not as great as it used to be ;dfjbhjd
> 
> sorry for any mistakes in advance   
> enjoy 
> 
> toast

Saying that Tzuyu was bored would be an understatement. She was dying of boredom, more exactly.

The summer holiday had started two weeks ago, and she had enough time to do everything she had planned : she watched all the dramas and series she needed to finish, she went to the dog shelter multiple times, tried the new milkshake place that opened a month ago, and slept until 1pm everyday. She spent some time with her friends too, but now they were all out of town, either with their family or with their lover.

She was lying in the middle of the garden, lazily tearing off the grass, sunbathing, when her mother called her.

"Tzuyu, if you have nothing to do, could you go and buy some milk ? Your brother finished the last bottle this morning and he -"

"I’m not the one who finished it ! Gosh, how many times to I have to tell you ?"

"Don’t speak to me using that tone, young man !"

Tzuyu sighed. She was tired of hearing her mom and brother argue every day, about nothing.

"I’ll go, mom." She needed something to do anyway, and walking to the shop was not a bad idea. Her mother gave her enough money to buy milk for the next two weeks, telling her that she could buy herself an ice-cream or something like that if she wanted. She put on her sunglasses and flip-flops, and left the house.

On her way to the shop, she stopped by an ice-cream truck, and got the most colorful one she could. It started melting the second she opened the wrapping. She blamed the sun for ruining the only good thing that was happening to her today, and quickly brought the ice-cream to her mouth when she realized it was dripping everywhere. Going to the convenience store also meant passing in front of the graveyard entrance. She always tried to avoid it, as the horror movies she loved to watch made her think that they could be actual ghosts in the graveyard. She knew it was dumb to still believe in ghosts when you were in highschool, but she linked her trauma to the horror movies and that one time when her friend Nayeon decided to prank her by leaving her alone, at night, during Halloween, in this particular graveyard, when she was 8.

But today, she decided to stay on the side of the street where the entrance was located. she stopped in front of it when she noticed a bright red paper tapped to the board near the mailbox. 'Volunteers needed to water the flowers during the holiday' Tzuyu read out loud. Who would want to do such a thing ? Definitely not her. She shivered when her eyes landed on a tombstone, and quickly crossed the street.

\--

The convenience store was empty. She greeted the man at the counter, who waved back at her, before focusing on his newspaper again. She took as many milk bottle as she could, huffing when she realized it was too much and that she was going to hurt her back if she took too much. She settled for 12 bottles and pack of chewing gum.

On her way back, she realized that someone was following her. When she turned around, she noticed 3 boys looking at her with nasty looks on their face, whispering things. She panicked, her mind making up the worst scenarios that could happen to her. She turned back and started to walk quickly, the weight of the milk bottles and the fact that she was wearing flip-flops making it difficult for her. When she heard one of the boys calling her, she entered the only place she knew they weren't going to follow her in : the graveyard.

They indeed stopped when they saw her disappear in the graveyard’s owner working place. When she was sure she was safe, she put her bags down, and sat on the floor of the small building, her face in her hands.

"Excuse me, miss ? "

She jumped at the sound of the voice and looked up, fearing that she did something wrong. An old man was looking down at her, concern on his face.

"I saw you rushing in. You startled me too, actually. Are you alright ?"

"Y-yeah, sorry." she got back on her feet, grabbing the edges of her t-shirt. God, she should’ve known she was going to run into somebody. "I just, i saw the sign near the entrance, about watering the plants ?", Tzuyu, what are you saying ! She mentally cursed herself for lying and not being able to admit she she was scared of men following her on the street.

"Oh, you’re a volunteer ! That’s good. I just need you fill in some papers. You’re still a minor, right ? I’ll need your parents approval too. Here." he handed her two paper sheets. "Bring them back to me tomorrow and you’ll be able to start."

It was too late for her to back away now, the old man looked really happy. So she took the paper, and decided that it was damn time for her to overcome her fear of graveyards.

Her parents didn’t question her decision much, but her brother didn’t miss the opportunity to tease her about it all evening. What if you see ghosts, eh ? What if you disappear and we never find you again ? She smacked him on the shoulder, and they ended up being loudly scolded by their dad after they started hitting each other pretty hard.

Tzuyu went to bed with anxious thoughts, and she wished she didn’t run in the graveyard.

—

She woke up feeling more tired than when she went to bed, her brother words being the main issue. She took her time to eat breakfast before heading to the cemetery.

The old man from the day before greeted her, and showed her where she could find water and a watering can. He asked her to be careful, to not put too much water on the plants or put some on the petals and leaves : it could burn them because of the sun. He also gave her a little plan of the graveyard, in case she got lost or needed not reach a water point. He then left her alone to her job.

She was alone in the main alley, clutching on the watering can. Fuck it, she thought. It’s 10am, the sun is up, ghosts don’t exist. Ghosts don’t exist. She kept muttering it under her breath while watering the plants. Ghosts don’t exist.

She stopped after 30 minutes, bored, telling herself that it was enough for her first day.

On her way back to the exit, she noticed someone crouching down in front of a tombstone, taking care of an old bouquet. The figure was quite small, wearing shorts with a denim jacket. She (Tzuyu decided that it was a girl) had short red hair, cut right above her shoulders. The person stood up, and Tzuyu rushed to the exit when she realized that she had been staring at the other girl. She didn’t want the stranger to notice.

She put the watering can back in its places, and walked back home, wondering how she was going to spend the rest of the day. Napping, she decided. She needed to sleep.

—

On her second day, she thought about trying to find the oldest person that had been buried in the graveyard. 1947 was the record for the section she was at. She saw the other girl again. Another volunteer, probably. Tzuyu had never seen her before. Was she new in town ? Not going to the same high school as her, maybe.

On her third day, the record reached 1940. She didn’t see the mysterious girl.

She stayed at home the next day : her mother asked her to stay in and help clean the house for a party she was going to have later during the week.

On her fourth day, the watering can she chose broke down, cutting her foot and spilling water on her clothes. Too much water, was what the old man had told her. She caught the other volunteer looking at her. She didn’t come the next three days, her foot hurting too much to walk.

On her fifth day, she started crying in front of a tombstone because the person buried under was a child who only lived 5 years. She told herself that she was lucky to be alive, and took extra care of the tombstone that day. She didn’t notice the red haired girl looking at her across the alley.

The days went by like this : Tzuyu discovering new things about the graveyard everyday, enjoying taking care of the flowers. Spending more and more time there, always finding something to do. She kept seeing the other girl, too, but never said a word to her. Once, she saw her sleeping at the bottom of the tree in the main alley. She thought it was cute, and left an apple she originally bought for herself in the girl’s bag.

July ended quickly, and August started with an incredibly high heat. Tzuyu found herself worrying about the flowers in the graveyard when she couldn’t go there. She also started thinking about what the red haired girl was doing.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon came back in town, and asked if Tzuyu wanted to hang out with them. She didn’t say yes right away, thinking about her job at the graveyard. But, of course, she couldn’t tell them she was helping with the flowers there, or they were going to make fun of her. Naeyon noticed her reaction, and asked if she was seeing someone ; Tzuyu denied it too quickly for the older girl : there was someone ! They tried to pry something out of her, but got nothing. They gave up when Tzuyu threatened to reveal that they were the ones who tagged a giant penis on the mayor’s office wall two years ago.

"It was a dare !"

Still, they didn’t want the whole town to find out about that, and they knew Tzuyu could actually do it.

On the second week of August, she almost passed out between the tombstones due to the heat. Luckily, the other volunteer found her and helped her feel better. But she was too groggy when it happened, and couldn’t remembered if the other girl talked at all. The next day, she found a small bag for her at the entrance, filled with a few water bottles, snacks, and a little note that said ‘ take care of yourself, be careful - CH’ the girl also added a cute doodle of a flower on the bottom. Tzuyu smiled, and decided to put the small note behind her phone case.

On the third week, she decided to buy flowers for the tombstones that didn’t have any. She got a job at the convenience store to do so, and her days got very busy, between going to the graveyard in the morning, working during the afternoon, catching up with her friends during the evening. She was exhausted, but nothing made her more happy the sight of the graveyard being filled with colors and fresh new scents. She even got a thumbs up from the red-haired girl, and a box of cookies from the old man.

On the last week of August, she decided to talk to the other girl. The holiday was coming to an end and she felt like she was not going to see her again. She approached her on Monday, determined to become friend with her.

"Hi."

"Oh, hello !" the smaller girl happily said. "it’s your first time talking to me ! This is great."

"Like you talked to me before… "Tzuyu didn’t mean to sound rude, but it was too late.

"I did though, when you fainted a few weeks ago. You don’t - maybe you don’t remember ? You were pretty dazed, after all…" the smaller girl didn’t seem to mind. "My name is Chaeyoung, by the way. And you are ?"

"Tzuyu."

——

The two girls spent the week together, taking care of the flowers in the morning and hanging out during the afternoon. Tzuyu only worked at the convenience store for a week, since it was enough for the flowers.

They learned about each other passions and hobbies. Chaeyoung told Tzuyu that she liked to draw a lot, and wanted to make it her future job after her studies. She showed her sketchbooks to Tzuyu, who couldn’t stop praising her and her talent. Chaeyoung often repeated that it was not about talent, but hard work. Tzuyu agreed ; she told her new friend that she did gymnastics for 12 years, so she was familiar with hard work. Chaeyoung was impressed, and asked the taller girl if she could show her her skills somedays. She promised her to.

Tzuyu also found out that Chaeyoung was homeschooled, and Tzuyu finally understood why she had never seen her before. So the tall girl told her what school really was, how different it was from the American shows Chaeyoung liked to watch.

"I still wish I went to school like you do though, Tzuyu-ah." a funny smile. "I have friends here already, but it also sounds fun...!"

 

Tuzyu invited Chaeyoung for a sleepover, and they decided to stay in the garden before going to sleep. Stargazing was something they both loved to do. Chaeyoung told her friend about all the constellations she knew about, the name of the stars, the galaxies. Tzuyu loved how passionate Chaeyoung was about it, and she was glad she talked to the smaller girl a few days ago. When Chaeyoung grabbed her hand, she couldn’t ignore the tingling sensation that it created. She knew she was falling for the other girl, but she didn’t really care. She was happy, and that was all that mattered.

Chaeyoung was the most lovable person on earth, she thought. Her cute dimple when she smiled, the sparkles in her eyes when she talked about something she loved were Tzuyu favorite things. She was already jealous of the person who was going to marry her friend. She loved the smaller girl bubbly attitude, her laugh, the way she sang when they were taking care of the flowers. She loved ruffling her friend’s short hair, and the pout she would give her in return.

A few times, her thoughts got a little more… steamy. She caught herself thinking a lot about kissing Chaeyoung’s plump pink lips, of tasting the strawberry gloss her friend always put on. She wished she could just slam Chaeyoung against a wall and kiss the innocence out of her. But she remained calm, and tried to suppress that kind of thoughts.

What she absolutely loved was the way Chaeyoung hugged her. Since she was smaller, she liked to hide her face into her tall friend shoulder, and Tzuyu almost squealed of happiness the first time Chaeyoung did it.

Nayeon asked her a few times if they were dating now, after Tzuyu told her how her summer holiday went, how she saw the girl almost everyday but didn’t say a word to her for weeks. Tzuyu didn’t manage to answer properly, turning into a blushing mess, and Nayeon got the information she needed. Her friend was in love, and she was ready to help her confess.

But her help wasn’t needed.

Things happened quickly. Chaeyoung asked Tzuyu if they could talk seriously, and Tzuyu feared that the other girl was going to tell her that they were not going to see each other at all anymore, since the school year was going to start again. So she asked Chaeyoung if she could tell her something at the same time. Chaeyoung agreed, thinking that it sounded like a funny thing to do.

"Ok, on three ! One, two three…"

"I love you !"

"I’m joining the highschool you go to next week !"

The stared at each other, confused. Tzuyu didn’t know what to say. That wasn’t what she expected to happen at all. Chaeyoung was looking at her with a dumbfounded expression, and something else Tzuyu had trouble identifying.

"Really ?"

"What do you mean, really ?!" Tzuyu shock turned into anger. " Yes, of course, really ! How can I not ? You know damn well I can’t lie at all. You - how can I not love you when you look so pretty all the time, when everything that comes out of your mouth is interesting, when," she blinked a few times, trying to stop the tears that was forming into her eyes.

"Tzuyu-ah."

"No, it’s fine, i’m sorry. You're going back to school ? that's g-"

"Tzuyu !" she grabbed the taller girl face, forcing her to look at her. "I love you too, alright ?"

Tzuyu didn’t know what to say anymore. Luckily for her, Chaeyoung knew what to do and gently, softly kissed her. Tzuyu felt like she was going to explode. Chaeyoung tiptoed to put her arms around the taller girl’s neck, not breaking the kiss. Tzuyu wrapped her arms around her waist, and they both giggled when they almost lost their balance. At some point, they had to stop, and simply hugged.

"Chaeyoung."

"Hmm ?"

"Did you know that the oldest person in the graveyard died in 1876 ?"

Chaeyoung laughed, holding Tzuyu more tightly. She was glad she fell in love with an idiot like her.

—-

“The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies.   
It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place.”  
\- Percy Bysshe Shelley, Adonais

**Author's Note:**

> twitter @chaengtoast


End file.
